Toronto Blue Jays select Ryan Cooney at #103 overall in the 2026 MLB Draft

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Ryan Cooney at #103rd overall in the 2026 MLB Draft. Ryan Cooney is a shortstop at Oregon. The slot value for the pick is $762,900. Ryan Cooney was not ranked on our MLB Draft Consensus Board.

Here’s what the write-up of Ryan Cooney by MLB Pipeline said:

"Hailing from a Jesuit High School program in Oregon that produced first-round arms Mick Abel and Noble Meyer, Cooney headed south from his Portland area school to attend the University of Oregon for college ball. He was the only true freshman to start on opening day for the Ducks in what turned out to be an up-and-down first collegiate season for the infielder. Things clicked as a sophomore for Cooney, who earned All Big Ten first-team honors while leading Oregon in hitting and stolen bases. It’s been more of the same as the Ducks’ top bat during his junior campaign.

If you get just one look at Cooney, he might not jump off the page because he doesn’t possess overly loud individual tools. Watch him for a while, though, and you can’t help but leave liking what he can do. There is some definite bat talent from the right side of the plate, with a good feel for the barrel and an advanced approach that has led to him walking as much as he’s striking out. He has a definite hit-over-power profile, but he has been getting to more damage this year and has been really locked in during conference play.

Cooney has above-average speed and knows how to steal a base. He plays with an edge in a Dustin Pedroia kind of way, an aggressiveness scouts like. He initially lost his starting job at short to teammate Maddox Molony, then worked his way back into the starting lineup at second base. He’s a solid defender there, with some evaluators thinking he could still handle the left side of the infield at the next level."

Analysis

Ryan Cooney is a 6-foot shortstop that seems to fit the Blue Jays mold of filling their organization with high contact bats, regardless of power. Having more walks in his junior season than strikeouts, shows a hitter with a keen eye at the plate and someone who can get the bat to the ball with consistency. The Blue Jays lack a big depth of middle infielders, so this pick should bolster the position at the position organizational wide level. With no real flashy tools, there is great optimism he signs for an under-slot value. If the Blue Jays can manage to snag him for under-slot, it should provide them an ability to go after higher value high school players in the middle rounds. With Toronto's farm system top heavy, he should wind up in the back of future Blue Jays Top 10 prospect rankings. Look for him to hit the ground running this year and get at-bats before the season is over at Low-A and High-A. The future is still unmolded for him and any outcome is possible. 
 

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